Bills should rebuff Jim Kelly's advances

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 27, 2009, 11:25 AM EDT

As we’ve previously articulated, in no uncertain terms, Browns owner Randy Lerner needs to find a way to run his team without giving former Cleveland players a seat at the table and/or a spoon in the stew.

Put simply, great players from the past who did not immediately get into a roll-up-the-sleeves-type role with an NFL franchise have no business popping off about what the team for which they one played should do when it comes to hiring a head coach or making personnel moves.

Bills ownership is now dealing with a former player who thinks his Hall of Fame credentials as a quarterback translates into a broader ability to make high-level decisions regarding the course of the franchise.

According to Jim Corbett of USA Today, Jim Kelly wants to meet with owner Ralph Wilson and COO Russ Brandon to offer his “full support” in helping the team return to prominence. Kelly also hopes to be “a big part of the ownership group” in the future.

In the interim, Kelly has opted to play to the mob as he attempts to nudge the team in the direction he’d like to see it move.

For starters, Kelly wants to see the Bills dump their starting quarterback.

“I like Trent personally,” Kelly told Corbett. “He works hard. But he’s had three years. It’s time to find somebody
who is the future of the Buffalo Bills. If I’m the owner, that’s what I’m thinking.

“Whether it’s Tim Tebow, whether they’ll have a
shot at him when draft time comes . . . you have to look at the top three
quarterbacks in the draft, really study them. And you look for a guy
with good character, good leadership ability and good arm strength —
and a guy who doesn’t come from California.”

Look, Kelly was a great quarterback. But he hasn’t worked as a scout and he hasn’t worked in a front office and he’d be the worst kind of owner/executive/adviser because he wouldn’t be able or willing to acknowledge the limits of his knowledge or abilities.

So Mr. Wilson should find a way to politely tell Kelly to butt out, and Bills fans shouldn’t fall victim to that same Cleveland-style misconception that great players somehow have all the answers when it comes to the challenge of assembling a great team.

[UPDATE: As some of you have pointed out, future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady is from California, too. Fortunately for his NFL team, he’s not required to play in the unforgiving elements of Buffalo.]

Jim Kelly doesnt really have much room to talk. I mean seriously, has any other QB with the exception of Donovan McNabb let down his team more in a career? I’m still trying to figure out why he is in the hall of fame.

sgw94 says:Nov 27, 2009 11:31 AM

Talk about a pot meet kettle moment.
Based off of one interview you have labeled Jim Kelly in exactly the same way that you are accusing him of labeling Trent Edwards. I wonder if there are any mirrors at your house…

Igottz5onit says:Nov 27, 2009 11:36 AM

Jim Kelly was such a good QB himself he should just tell Florio to kiss the rings… oh wait….

GreenAndGold says:Nov 27, 2009 11:44 AM

Uh, isn’t Aaron Rodgers from California and he seems to do OK in a Buffalo-type environment.

Tim's_Mom says:Nov 27, 2009 11:48 AM

But at this point, it can’t hurt……

JohnnyCastle says:Nov 27, 2009 11:48 AM

Your outta your mind

Asswipe Johnson (Pronounced Az-Wee-Pay) says:Nov 27, 2009 11:49 AM

Mike Florio said:
“Look, Kelly was a great quarterback. But he hasn’t worked as a scout and he hasn’t worked in a front office and he’d be the worst kind of owner/executive/adviser because he wouldn’t be able or willing to acknowledge the limits of his knowledge or abilities.”
While all this sounds good. One should not underestimate the passion and work ethic of a former NFL player (such as Kelly) coming back to return his former team to glory…just ask Mike Ditka.

BernardPollardIsAnAss says:Nov 27, 2009 11:49 AM

Somewhere, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, and John Elway just simultaneously said, “What the f–k?”
You forgot another soon to be hall of fame QB in that crowd… Tom Brady from San Mateo, CA.

sevendollarbologna says:Nov 27, 2009 11:50 AM

Dude, o-4 in SB’s! step off.

Slippyal2 says:Nov 27, 2009 11:52 AM

Mike Florio has a few things wrong with this little blog. First of all (and thankfully) Trent is not the Bills starter. He lost his job which led to Jauron getting canned because his own guy he developed couldn’t hack it as a QB. Second he wants to not have any say in personel moves, but would like to talk to free agents and coaches to help sell the team and area. Third, Kelly wants to have an ownership succesion plan in place so the team doesn’t leave WNY after the 91 year old owner dies.
Maybe next time you can butt out and not jump to conclusions.

GoCaps8 says:Nov 27, 2009 11:54 AM

Yes Buffalo, Tim Tebow is the answer. Draft up to get him if you must. Get him before the Redskins do.

timpiker says:Nov 27, 2009 11:54 AM

I agree. Why in the world should these owners get the opinions of some former great player who really cares about the city and team when they can free advice from a failed lawyer who gets all his opinions and news by reading the internet.

mustbechris says:Nov 27, 2009 11:55 AM

wow, this dude needs to shut the f*ck up

urbusted says:Nov 27, 2009 12:01 PM

Florio, if you look at the history of the Browns after they returned as an expansion franchise, one thing that bothered fans was the total exclusion of former players by the Policy group. Jim Brown was the first embraced by the new franchise, but he has never run anything as such. Kosar was brought in as a consultant by Lerner recently but without a defined role as far as we know. I believe there should be a balance with former players involved, but in most cases working in PR oriented tasks that don’t dictate current team policies.
Your article above points to a specific problem involving former players. I do not think you can give one solid piece of evidence where Cleveland has a former player running any football operations position. Besides Isn’t Ozzie Newsome a former player of the team that became the Ravens in a GM capacity/ Is he good at it?

GBPackers says:Nov 27, 2009 12:01 PM

Isnt it time for another Queen or Packer post to get us “wild” at eachother?

JT11 says:Nov 27, 2009 12:01 PM

Yeah stay away from California qb’s and draft Tebow so he can continue the dominant play of UF quarterbacks in the NFL like Jesse Palmer, Danny Wuerfel, and Rex Grossman.

NateAzusa says:Nov 27, 2009 12:06 PM

Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer aren’t doing too bad and they are from Cali

zonabb says:Nov 27, 2009 12:06 PM

Well, by your argument that because Kelly doesn’t meet your standard and qualifications to have a football opinion, your website and comments are thereby nullified and not credible. You should now refrain from offering opinions on any and all football related personal decisions.
Pot meet kettle.

SteveC says:Nov 27, 2009 12:12 PM

And what credentials do you exactly have at reporting about NFL football and giving your opinions?
At least he played Football and knows how a team operates, you on the other hand are just a fan of football who thinks he knows everything…no different then the millions of other football fans that have opinions.

TampaJoey says:Nov 27, 2009 12:14 PM

Kelly endorsing Tim Tebow as the Bills potential future Franchise QB is enough to show that Jim doesn’t have a clue about evaluating player personnel.
Stick to endorsing online sports books Jim!

reddog9 says:Nov 27, 2009 12:18 PM

Florio,
As a life long Bills fan, after watching the results of all the fools Ralph has hired to coach and run the team over the last 10 years, I do no believe Jim Kelly could do any worse! This franchise is at the bottom already. I don’t necessarily believe Jim Kelly has all the answers, but I know for a fact that Ralph has none. The sooner he sells the team the better!

HarrisonHits says:Nov 27, 2009 12:19 PM

Kelly would = Matt Millen Mk 2

fatediesel says:Nov 27, 2009 12:21 PM

Kelly wasn’t saying quarterbacks from California aren’t good, just that they haven’t recent had success in Buffalo, which you can’t dispute. Rob Johnson, JP Losman, and Trent Edwards are all from California and played for warm weather colleges, and all struggled in frigid Buffalo. They should be going after a quarterback that has played in cold weather in college, like another Californian in the AFC East, Tom Brady of Michigan. If you’ve never seen the quarterback play in the cold in their life you have no idea how they’ll adjust to the cold AFC East climates, like the Jets are learning with Mark Sanchez. If I’m Buffalo I’d consider Jimmy Clausen or Dan LeFevour before Tebow, Bradford, or Colt McCoy.

dzil says:Nov 27, 2009 12:21 PM

Kelly wants to pay to keep the Bills in Buffalo, I’d say that makes him a positive factor. Of course we all know that blogger lawyers know more about football than hall of fame players do. Maybe Mr. Kelly would be gracious enough to beat your stupid ass, Florio.

deymond says:Nov 27, 2009 12:31 PM

Aikman – Dallas
Moon – dome
Fouts – San Diego
You’re proving Kelly’s point better than he did.
As for Cleveland, Jim Brown rejoined the organization in 2005. In case your memory fails you, they had not been doing well prior to this.

NoKoolaidCowboy says:Nov 27, 2009 12:32 PM

I see nothing wrong with someone who has actually played the game wanting to offer support to a franchise they owe a debt of gratitude toward.
Ownership would be wise to listen to advice offered and then ownership can decide whether or not to heed that advice. Obviously some former players will be better at this then others.
Is there a problem with just listening to ideas when your franchise is lacking something?

Im sure the Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets would welcome Kelly into the division with open arms if his best advice is to draft Tebow to play QB and avoid talent from California…

PolegoJim says:Nov 27, 2009 12:41 PM

Mike – with all that said, then it’s a guarantee that they’ll hire him as a ‘Special ReBuilding Consultant’. Why would they do anything that makes sense, just like the Browns?
At least the Lions FINALLY dumped Millen. The Ford Family has that little ray of sunshine going for them.

SATAN says:Nov 27, 2009 12:47 PM

Uh… How many snow bowls has Tom “California” Brady been in and won? What NFC championship team that froze out my home last year did he beat 47-7? And how about the tuck game against an Oakland Raider team that made the SB the next year?
Is Florio still drunk from Thanksgiving?
The other sad thing is that with the salaries that are now paid to NFL players it’s really hard to get them to take the entry level positions they need to take to be coaches and GM’s

VonClausewitz says:Nov 27, 2009 12:58 PM

It’s a fair criticism to say that Kelly doesn’t have experience on the management side of things. But what he does have is experience in winning and knowing what it takes to win. He knows where you should set the expectation bar within the lockerroom so as to get winning players. He knows how long to keep players before they’ve exhausted their chance. He knows that while patience is required in rebuilding, too much patience is a bad thing. He knows what type of players make winners. He knows what a winning team looks like and how it behaves. In short he knows winning. While he doesn’t know about the details of drafting or the latest schemes, ignoring the value of someone with an instinct for success is foolish.
Yes the Bills lost 4 superbowls in a row, one of which they should have won. But they were also the #1 or #2 team in football for a long stretch and were the measuring stick for a champion football team. And there was more than enough tape on them that when the championship game came around they were at a disadvantage. Even the vaunted Boys teams which dismantled them saw their run at a dynasty fall apart once the rest of the league figured them out. It doesn’t lessen the achievements of the Bills and Jim Kelly that they didn’t come away with one. It’s just a reminder that even the best teams, like the best coaches (Schotty I’m looking at you) can’t win forever all the time. Credit where credit is due.

Hap says:Nov 27, 2009 1:03 PM

0 for 4 in Super Bowls. Perhaps the Bills should have moved on after the 3rd year as he suggested with Trent. Im not sayin’, Im just sayin’.

Fan_Of_ Four says:Nov 27, 2009 1:11 PM

Somewhere, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, and John Elway just simultaneously said, “What the f–k?”
This is why I love this site.
You might have to sift through forty lines of utter nonsense but you always find one that’s a gem.

danlinker says:Nov 27, 2009 1:17 PM

He knows a hell of a lot more about this than you do florio you idiot. What gives you the right to judge this guy? He was tougher and smarter at 5 years of age than you will ever be now. Give me a break.

slutnuts says:Nov 27, 2009 1:28 PM

@deymond, i like the idea of your post, but moon played in edmonton, that trumps all cold weather places in the nfl.

senmax says:Nov 27, 2009 1:29 PM

Wow – Florio actually thinks the weather in Foxboro is less ‘unforgiving’ than Orchard Park? What a freakin’ idiot.
Hey Mike, ya moron – how’d ya like the Foxboro weather for that Tennessee game? No snow here in WNY in mid-October, just sunny and warm.

zappa says:Nov 27, 2009 1:31 PM

Green Bay is in the process of putting funding together to build a dome to replace the pile of dung they play in now. You heard it here first.

Bordner says:Nov 27, 2009 1:42 PM

Aikman – Dallas
Moon – dome
Fouts – San Diego
You’re proving Kelly’s point better than he did.
———————————————–
Moon had some pretty good stats in Canada
Canada – further north than Buffalo

CKL says:Nov 27, 2009 1:45 PM

# chapnasty says: November 27, 2009 11:29 AM
Jim Kelly doesnt really have much room to talk. I mean seriously, has any other QB with the exception of Donovan McNabb let down his team more in a career? I’m still trying to figure out why he is in the hall of fame.
__________________________________
THIS!
JK is one of the most overrated QBs ever outside Namath (and I am still trying to figure out how they and Greise are in the HOF). JK=HORRIBLE in the playoffs.
And he is still a douchewaffle to boot.
He probably likes Tebow because few people think Tebow will be an NFL QB. Much like they thought of him back in the day when he was asked to switch to LB by Penn State hence he refused to go there.
JK is still bringing the LOLs whenever he opens his mouth though.

Quagmire says:Nov 27, 2009 1:53 PM

chapnasty says:
I mean seriously, has any other QB with the exception of Donovan McNabb let down his team more in a career?
Romo, with his annual December swoon.

CYGNUS X-1 says:Nov 27, 2009 2:39 PM

Like other posters here, you got to love the fact a guy like you who never played the game and in fact was a lawyer is so much more qualified than the people who did play and played well to offer opinons on what it takes to make a winning team.he may not have won the big one but he got his team to 4 of them.him stating the obvious that they need to start with a qb is a stupid idea?maybe he knows you can’t win without a good qb since they have not had one since he retired except for flutie and they screwed that up!I would love to see you back up your talk and try and get an interview with a team and see how that goes.

virtualplague says:Nov 27, 2009 2:40 PM

He means that California QBs don’t have success in Buffalo, and he’s right…
Also, Brady lovers are stupid.

Yes, Brady, Rodgers play in snow, how often? How about the winds that come blowing in from Lake Erie. Where is Foxboro and Green Bay Stadiums related to the large body water.
Kelly was the man.

madbillsfan says:Nov 27, 2009 3:12 PM

How is Buffalo worse than Foxboro?
They are way closer to the ocean and are farther up north.
Common fking sense tells me its colder in Mass.
You must need the hits on your site from defensive Buffalonians. Oh yeah, Kelly should shut up.

AdrenalineJunkie says:Nov 27, 2009 3:18 PM

@senmax, ever hear of sarcasm?
@ all of you criticizing Florio – what he writes on this blog does not influence how a team runs its football operations, while getting former players involved does, I think even you guys can agree that is a HUGE difference.
You may not agree with PFT’s opinions, but none of them influence the running of the teams, so at the end of the day it’s just commentary and opinion. At no point did he say the JK can’t have an opinion, just that it’s not a good idea for a former player, who has not been involved in management or scouting, to be “making high-level decisions regarding the course of the franchise”. Just because you played the game, does not mean you have the ability to put together a winning team/roster. If it was that easy, every GM would be a former player and there would be no bad teams. Or better yet, don’t have a GM, just send out a survey to your former players every year so they can tell you who to draft and who to play… yeah, that’s it!

DJ says:Nov 27, 2009 3:18 PM

CheapNasty
It was Kelly’s fault it’s a team sport moron check your self and shut it !

redsquare says:Nov 27, 2009 3:19 PM

To the rabble above who think that Jim Kelly has no value because he lost 4 Super Bowls: that’s precisely the same thing as saying that Def Leppard’s ‘Pyromania’ is worthless junk because it never got to #1 on the charts, only reaching #2. The reason it never got to #1 was because it was stalled at #2 for months on end against the solid wall that was Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ at #1.
The Bills largely ran up against the dominant team of the entire decade in the Dallas Cowboys. Take them and that fluky ending against the Giants out of the equation, and you have a Bills team winning at least two Super Bowls.
Besides, how many teams are good enough to get to 4 Super Bowls to begin with? Perspective, people, please…

SmackMyVickUp says:Nov 27, 2009 4:08 PM

The Bills largely ran up against the dominant team of the entire decade in the Dallas Cowboys. Take them and that fluky ending against the Giants out of the equation, and you have a Bills team winning at least two Super Bowls.
———————-
Second place is the first loser.

deymond says:Nov 27, 2009 4:33 PM

Moon was an excellent QB, both in the NFL and in the CFL. However, when he played primarily in the cold weather in the CFL, he was not going against NFL talent. I’m sure Trent Edwards would have more success playing in the CFL, or playing in the Astrodome, Metrodome, and Kingdome (not that I’m suggesting Trent Edwards is anywhere near the player Moon was).

Beastie Bills says:Nov 27, 2009 5:29 PM

Obviously, there are good QB’s who’ve come from California.
But as a Bills fan, I’m sick of seeing California QB’s come to buffalo and play like crap.
Rob Johnson, JP Losman and Trent Edwards. ‘Nuff said.
A decent OLine would probably help though.

Dbusick says:Nov 27, 2009 6:15 PM

Troy Aikman was from Oklahoma.
He just went to college at UCLA after Barry tried to make him a wishbone QB at OU.

Wick says:Nov 27, 2009 6:48 PM

Unless Kelly was joking (and it doesn’t sound like it), to insist the team draft a QB provided said QB is not from California is one of the most inane comments of all time.
Why would the Bills think it would be a good idea to bring in someone with Kelly’s ego and misperception of infallibility? Dude thinks he has vision and unshakeable conviction simply because he noticed that Losman and Edwards hailed from California??? Ridiculous.
Kelly was a great QB with a lot of heart — but his blanket statement on California QBs is so ludicrous that it’s truly mind-boggling. Unreal – by last count, QBs of California were or will be NFL Hall of Famers that started on at least 8 of the last 18 Super Bowl winning teams. Hell, if you also incude Trent Dilfer, you’ve got a half. If we include Johnson, we can’t exclude Dilfer.
What a pea-brained assessment by Kelly.

Matt says:Nov 27, 2009 8:48 PM

# madbillsfan says: November 27, 2009 3:12 PM
How is Buffalo worse than Foxboro?
They are way closer to the ocean and are farther up north.
Common fking sense tells me its colder in Mass.
*********************************************
Common sense tells me you’re a moron. Being closer to the ocean gets your warmer weather – hence, part of the reason (though not the entire reason) why Philly is warmer than Pittsburgh. End of the day, pretty sure I’d take MASS weather over places that get dumped on by Great Lakes snow. Also, fairly certain it’s a bit more common for Buffalo to get dumped on with 2 feet of snow on some random night in Oct or Nov than it is in Boston.
Yearly snow amounts (Boston vs. Great Lakes):
Boston, MA: 42.2 in.
Buffalo, NY: 93.6 in. (yeah, just a snidge more than Boston)
Cleveland, OH: 56.9 in.
Erie, PA: 88.8 in.
(Below: http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/snowfall.html)
Avg. High Temp: Nov-Feb (Boston v. Great Lakes):
Boston, MA:
Buffalo, NY:
Cleveland, OH:
Erie, PA: 49.3, 38.6, 33.5, 35.4

Matt says:Nov 27, 2009 8:57 PM

# madbillsfan says: November 27, 2009 3:12 PM
How is Buffalo worse than Foxboro?
They are way closer to the ocean and are farther up north.
Common fking sense tells me its colder in Mass.
*********************************************
It seems your common sense is off quite a bit. Being closer to the ocean gets your warmer weather – hence, part of the reason (though not entirely) why Philly is warmer than Pittsburgh. Boston’s average temps through the winter months are even higher than Pittsburgh’s, and Pittsburgh is at least 130 miles further south than Boston. At the end of the day, Boston weather might not be awesome, but it ain’t that incredibly bad, either.
Yearly snow amounts (Boston vs. Great Lakes):
Boston, MA: 42.2 in.
Buffalo, NY: 93.6 in. (yeah, just a snidge more than Boston)
Cleveland, OH: 56.9 in.
Erie, PA: 88.8 in.
(Below: http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/snowfall.html)
Avg. High Temp: Nov-Feb (Boston v. Great Lakes):
Boston, MA: 52, 41, 36, 38
Buffalo, NY: 47, 36, 31, 33
Cleveland, OH: 50, 38, 34, 36
Erie, PA: 49.3, 38.6, 33.5, 35.4

iambeastmode23 says:Nov 27, 2009 10:20 PM

wow way to have no clue what you are talking about!
This guy just cares about the community and doesnt want the team going to Toronto once Ralph Wilson dies. He doesnt have nearly enough money to buy the team, he wants to be a part owner.
Forgive the guy for not liking California QBs. We havent had that much luck with them : Rob Johnson, JP Losman, Trent Edwards. He was just joking GET REAL!

As always, Florio has little knowledge or insight on the subject at hand. If he was a credible journalist of any kind, he would follow up on these stories.
Please refer to buffalobills.com and read Jim Kelly’s write up about the USA Today article and ESPN reports. He clears up the “fog” on what makes it seem that all Cali QB’s are trash. It’s in reference to those QB’s handling the November and December weather in Buffalo, not that they are good QB’s or not.
As for Kelly speaking out about the team, it’s a good thing. Team “alumni” who contributed to the team, especially in the way that Jim Kelly did to the Buffalo Bills, they have a right to be heard.
Kelly wants nothing but the best for the team, but at least he is calling the shots down the middle, as he views them.
Actually read a story, not just read into a few words. Investigative reporting can go a long long ways, especially to ones credibility as a reporter, especially on the “national” level.
How in the hell did Florio ever get someone like Bob Costas to plug him for a show? It’s beyond me.